Lead UX Researcher

Lead UX Researcher Role Summary: About the UX Team Come and join the Tax UX Research Team as we work to transform Thomson Reuters into a truly Digital company. We are not just changing the way customers engage with us — we are transforming and re-imagining our business by focusing on the individual user. We are looking for curious, smart, self-driven UX professionals who love the challenge of turning complex problems and constraints into elegant solutions that meet our users’ needs. Our team promotes an agile, collaborative, supportive environment where diverse thinking, innovative design, and experimentation is welcomed and encouraged. Our work focuses on a large portfolio of transformational efforts as we work together to deliver on the promise of making it easy to do business with Thomson Reuters. About the Role: In this Lead position, you will drive the end-to-end UX research practice for a complex, high-impact product portfolio. You will be expected to lead both strategic generative research and evaluative studies, shaping how the team uncovers and acts on deep user insights. As a Lead, you will go beyond execution — you will form key partnerships with product, engineering, and design to surface deeply impactful research opportunities, advocate for user-centered decisions in product roadmaps, and provide strategic and thought leadership on UX research practices and methods. You will support less experienced researchers on the team through coaching, peer review, and by continuously raising the bar for research quality and influence. About You: You are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the end-to-end product development process, with a special emphasis on demonstrating the business impact of UX research and insights. You think beyond the click and ask: Why would anyone want to push this button in the first place? You are an experienced leader with experience working side by side with Product, Design, and Engineering leaders to solve the right problems at scale. You can write about research findings in a way that does not require voice-over — clear, compelling, and self-contained You can sketch in a collaborative way to illustrate a flow or make a point You bring deep knowledge and experience with a wide variety of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, including:[GU2] Qualitative analysis and reporting; interviewing and group facilitation techniques Contextual Inquiries, Remote Usability Testing, Parallel Prototyping, Persona Development Un-moderated feedback tools (e.g., UserZoom) Ability to triangulate data from many sources Other User-Centered Design (UCD) methods to develop user insights You have deep knowledge and practical experience structuring user needs through fundamental UX frameworks such as Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) and Customer Experience Outcomes (CXOs). You use these frameworks not just to describe user behavior, but to connect research insights directly to business and product decisions. You can keep pace with agile testing while maintaining the strategic perspective needed to give design teams long-term goals for hitting user objectives. You influence decisions and next steps with product and design partners, are comfortable navigating trade-offs, and advocate for user-centered outcomes in roadmap prioritization. AI & Research Acceleration Experience building, using, or experimenting with AI tools (e.g., Claude and other AI platforms) Practical experience applying AI to accelerate Experience building prototypes with AI tools that pull directly from a body of insights to illustrate recommendations. A mindset focused on responsible, thoughtful adoption of AI to raise the efficiency and impact of UX research Lead Expectations in an Embedded Model Proactive and self-directed — identifies opportunities and acts without waiting for direction Provides strategic and thought leadership on UX research practices, methods, and the team’s overall research approach Partner with other customer insight functions, including Product Marketing and Customer Experience teams to create a more wholistic research roadmap and triangulate data Takes initiative to shape research strategy, not just execute studies Forms key partnerships with product, engineering, and design to unearth deeply impactful research opportunities Advocates for user-centered decisions in roadmaps and influences next steps with product and design partners Navigates trade-offs thoughtfully and helps teams make informed, user-grounded decisions under constraints Supports less experienced UX researchers through coaching, peer review, and mentorship Continuously raises the bar for what “Lead level” research looks like in quality, influence, and outcomes A strong team player who collaborates naturally while operating autonomously and owning results end to end Responsibilities In this role, you will own the full research lifecycle — from intake and scoping through execution to demonstrating measurable business impact: Quickly synthesize business objectives and customer needs to define the right research scope Develop a UX research approach, schedule, and detailed test plan Plan, partner with Research Ops on developing strategies on how best to recruit our target audience, script, facilitate, collect, analyze, and document data Lead strategic generative research to identify unmet user needs and long-horizon product opportunities Identify and articulate user needs first, and then potential usability issues, both verbally and through documentation Transform data into prioritized, actionable recommendations within a short turnaround time Influence product and design decisions — not just report findings, but drive next steps Clearly communicate qualitative analysis, recommendations, and potential design solutions Create persuasive presentations for product owners, developers, visual designers, other UX team members, and C-level executives Facilitate internal meetings to triage and manage research findings Demonstrate the business impact of research through clear before/after framing, behavioral outcomes, or measurable product changes Previous experience with design or research projects involving complex workflows, visualization of large datasets, operating system-level tools, and both web and software environments is a plus Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in a Social Science, or Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Interaction Design, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, or a related field 8+ years of experience applying research to high-volume, interactive B2B and B2C applications, rich web-based applications, or websites Strong analytical problem solving, decision-making, and leadership skills In-depth understanding of user-centered design principles and tools Familiarity with SharePoint and project management tools such as Jira Familiarity performing studies in a virtual lab environment Familiarity with data-logging tools and systems such as Tableau, Qualtrics, Adobe Analytics, or other BI analytic programs #LI-DS4 Replacement: This position is open due to an existing vacancy to support our evolving business needs. What’s in it For You? Hybrid Work Model: We’ve adopted a flexible hybrid working environment (2-3 days a week in the office depending on the role) for our office-based roles while delivering a seamless experience that is digitally and physically connected. Flexibility & Work-Life Balance: Flex My Way is a set of supportive workplace policies designed to help manage personal and professional responsibilities, whether caring for family, giving back to the community, or finding time to refresh and reset. This builds upon our flexible work arrangements, including work from anywhere for up to 8 weeks per year, empowering employees to achieve a better work-life balance. Career Development and Growth: By fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development, we prepare our talent to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and deliver real-world solutions. Our Grow My Way programming and skills-first approach ensures you have the tools and knowledge to grow, lead, and thrive in an AI-enabled future. Industry Competitive Benefits: We offer comprehensive benefit plans to include flexible vacation, two company-wide Mental Health Days off, access to the Headspace app, retirement savings, tuition reimbursement, employee incentive programs, and resources for mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. Culture: Globally recognized, award-winning reputation for inclusion and belonging, flexibility, work-life balance, and more. We live by our values: Obsess over our Customers, Compete to Win, Challenge (Y)our Thinking, Act Fast / Learn Fast, and Stronger Together. Social Impact: Make an impact in your community with our Social Impact Institute. We offer employees two paid volunteer days off annually and opportunities to get involved with pro-bono consulting projects and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Making a Real-World Impact: We are one of the few companies globally that helps its customers pursue justice, truth, and transparency. Together, with the professionals and institutions we serve, we help uphold the rule of law, turn the wheels of commerce, catch bad actors, report the facts, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people all over the world. Our use of AI within the recruitment process Thomson Reuters utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our global recruitment process. Unless you opt-out, our AI system will assess the information provided by you and compare it to the requirements listed for the role, and present the result to our recruitment personnel for further review. The AI system acts as a supporting tool, but there is always a human making the decision if you will be considered for the role. In the United States, Thomson Reuters offers a comprehensive benefits package to our employees. Our benefit package includes market competitive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance programs, as well as a competitive 401k plan with company match. In addition, Thomson Reuters offers market leading work life benefits with competitive vacation, sick and safe paid time off, paid holidays (including two company mental health days off), parental leave, sabbatical leave. These benefits meet or exceeds the requirements of paid time off in accordance with any applicable state or municipal laws. Finally, Thomson Reuters offers the following additional benefits: optional hospital, accident and sickness insurance paid 100% by the employee; optional life and AD&D insurance paid 100% by the employee; Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts; fitness reimbursement; access to Employee Assistance Program; Group Legal Identity Theft Protection benefit paid 100% by employee; access to 529 Plan; commuter benefits; Adoption & Surrogacy Assistance; Tuition Reimbursement; and access to Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Thomson Reuters complies with local laws that require upfront disclosure of the expected pay range for a position. The base compensation range varies across locations. Eligible office location(s) for this role include one or more of the following: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and/or Irvine, CA; McLean, VA; Washington, DC. The base compensation range for the role in any of those locations is $146,800 USD - $272,600 USD. For any eligible US locations, unless otherwise noted, the base compensation range for this role is $127,400 USD - $236,600 USD. For Ontario, Canada, the base compensation range for this role is $132,800 CAD - $182,800 CAD. Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills and experience with consideration given to internal equity. Base pay is one part of a comprehensive Total Reward program which also includes flexible and supportive benefits and other wellbeing programs. This role may also be eligible for an Annual Bonus based on a combination of enterprise and individual performance. About Us Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news. We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward. As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug-free workplace. Thomson Reuters makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. If you reside in the United States and require an accommodation in the recruiting process, you may contact our Human Resources Department at [email protected] . Disability accommodations in the recruiting process may include things like a sign language interpreter, making interview rooms accessible, providing assistive technology, or other relevant accommodations. Please note this email is not intended for general recruitment questions and we will promptly respond to inquiries regarding accommodations. More information on requesting an accommodation here. Learn more on how to protect yourself from fraudulent job postings here. More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on thomsonreuters.com